Chrysippus, Fragments from the Passions 3

There do exist parts of the soul out of which the reason in it and the disposition in the reason are composed. 

And the soul is honorable or shameful in accordance with the condition of its leading part with respect to its proper divisions. 

Chrysippus, Fragments from the Passions 2

That is why it is not off the mark to say, as some people do, that a passion of the soul is an unnatural motion, as is the case with fear and desire and things like that; for all such motions and conditions are disobedient to reason and reject it. 

And so we say that such people are irrationally moved, not as though they make a bad calculation, which would be the sense opposite to "reasonably", but rather in the sense of a rejection of reason. . . . 

That is what such conditions are like, uncontrolled, as though they were not masters of themselves but were carried away in the way that those who run strenuously are swept away and cannot control their motion. 

But those who move according to reason, as though it were their leader, and steer their course by it wherever it might lead, these people are in control of this sort of motion and the impulses that go with it. 

Chrysippus, Fragments from The Passions 1

These fragments from On the Passions by Chrysippus are to be found in Galen's On the Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato. 

• • • • • 

We must first keep in mind that the rational animal is by nature such as to follow reason and to act according to reason as a guide. 

Nevertheless, he often moves toward some things and away from some things in another way, disobediently to reason, when he is pushed too far, or to excess. Both definitions of passion, the natural motion which arises irrationally in this way and the excessiveness in the impulses, are in terms of this motion. 

For this irrationality must be taken to be disobedient to reason and turning its back on reason. 

And it is in terms of this motion that we also say in ordinary usage that some people are "pushed" and "moved irrationally without reason and judgment".

For we do not use these expressions as if someone is moved mistakenly, and because he overlooks something that is according to reason, but most especially according to the motion Zeno outlines, since the rational animal does not naturally move in accordance with his soul in this way, but rather in accordance with reason. . . . 

The excess of the impulse was also spoken of in terms of this, because they overstep the symmetry of impulses which is proper to themselves and natural. What I say would be made easier to understand by means of these examples. 

In walking according to impulse, the motion of the legs is not excessive but is in a sense coextensive with the impulse, so that it can come to a standstill when the walker wishes, or change direction. 

But in the case of those who are running according to impulse, this sort of thing is no longer the case, but the motion of the legs exceeds the impulse so that it is carried away, and does not change direction obediently in this way as soon as they start to do so. 

I think something similar to these motions of the legs occurs in the impulses, because of the overstepping of the symmetry which is according to reason, so that whenever one has an impulse he is not obedient with respect to it—the excess being beyond the impulse in the case of running and beyond reason in the case of impulse. 

For the symmetry of natural impulse is that according to reason and is as far as reason thinks proper. Therefore, since the overstepping is according to this standard and in this way, the impulse is said to be excessive and an unnatural and irrational motion of the soul. 

The Road Less Traveled

"The smooth current of life."

"Again, living virtuously is equivalent to living in accordance with the experience of the actual course of Nature, as Chrysippus says in the first book of his De Finibus; for our individual natures are parts of the Nature of the whole universe.

"And this is why the end may be defined as life in accordance with Nature, or, in other words, in accordance with our own human nature as well as that of the universe, a life in which we refrain from every action forbidden by the law common to all things, that is to say, the right reason which pervades all things, and is identical with Zeus, lord and ruler of all that is.

"And this very thing constitutes the virtue of the happy man and the smooth current of life, when all actions promote the harmony of the spirit dwelling in the individual man with the will of him who orders the universe."

--Chrysippus, as cited by Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, 7.87

We are, I think, far too keen on creating dichotomy and conflict. It is one thing to employ words like peace and harmony, but quite another to put them into daily practice. Note how often we assume there must an obstacle in our paths, something to be conquered or defeated. In reality, the only thing that ever needs defeating is our own thinking and desire to defeat.

Nature is not some mysterious concept. Observe what something is, and thereby apprehend what perfects and completes it. Then view that thing in its rightful relationship to other things, seeing then how all things work together for a whole. If my own actions are in accord with my own nature, a being that is made to know the truth and love the good, those actions will also be in harmony with everyone and everything else around me.

No, there need be no conflict with my world. Even those things I assume to be somehow bad in Nature, like illness, suffering, or even death, play their own role in the good of the whole, and by our own choices we can participate in that good of the whole, taking all that is given us and turning it toward benefit.

The law common to all things is hardly obscure, though we may seek to ignore it in our vanity. It is, with no apology, a law of love, a reverence and respect for myself, for others, and for all things in the world, each in their rightful place.

I remember that I often avoided team sports as a child, not because I didn't enjoy the activity or the excitement, but because I didn't enjoy all the aggression and bickering that went with them. First, of course, one hated and derided the other team, and if we weren't winning, we started  bickering among ourselves, freely casting blame and throwing about insults.

I knew already that I thought very differently. My opponent in a game is not my enemy, but I rarely found the sense of sportsmanship that respected the other players. I also learned that I understood winning very differently. Getting the most points was far less important to me than simply playing well for its own sake. I often noticed that if a score was so uneven that one side had no chance of victory, some players just gave up. Others, however, the ones I admired, continued to play the game with even more determination.  They didn't stomp off yelling and cursing, but shook hands when they were bested.

It is worth noting that as in sport, so in life, and observe how different people choose very different standards of success and failure. A Stoic attitude, which is shared in common with all approaches of human decency, will not assume that people are intended to be in conflict with one another, that a good can only be achieved at the expense of others, or that anyone or anything is disposable. Harmony, a life of smooth current, is not a pipe dream. It is precisely what we are made for, and if someone else chooses not to live this way, I can still certainly do so.

Written on 8/2/2011

Image: Peter Apian, Cosmographia (1524)